Environmentalists Ask: Is India’s Government Making Bad Air Worse?<br />As officials across various layers of Indian government scrambled to respond, Mr. Modi<br />did not say — or tweet, which is how he often communicates — a word about it.<br />An adviser gave the impression that the prime minister was not more engaged<br />because the central government considered air pollution a problem for just a couple of weeks a year, and a Delhi-centric one at that.<br />An adviser to Mr. Modi said speeding up approvals of commercial projects had helped India jump 30 places this<br />year on the World Bank’s “ease of doing business” rankings, something foreign investors appreciated.<br />“Are the people of Delhi supposed to bear this?”<br />The bigger question might be: Why can’t India, which has made enormous strides fighting poverty<br />and aspires to be a superpower, get a handle on its pollution?<br />NEW DELHI — As millions of Indians watched a televised cricket match this week<br />between the national teams of India and Sri Lanka, the game suddenly stopped.<br />But they argue not only that Mr. Modi has failed to adequately respond, but<br />that his business-friendly policies, like loosening rules on construction sites, have made a toxic air problem even worse.
